Geological team members conducting field investigations. Provided by the interviewee.
Pidu District, located northwest of Chengdu City, is the native place of the nationally renowned "Pixian Broad Bean Paste." It is also the base of the Third Geological Brigade of Sichuan Province Geological and Mineral Resources Bureau (hereinafter referred to as the Third Brigade).
Following the popular screening of the movie "The Third Brigade", this geological team drew public attention because of a significant discovery. Just like the relentless pursuit for truth in the film's "Third Brigade," the team members have been actively involved in the Tibetan Plateau's harsh conditions of ice and snow. Over the past five years, they have discovered nearly 1 million tons of giant lithium deposits in Yajiang County, Garze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in western Sichuan, refreshing the record for the largest single lithium deposit in Asia.
However, for a long time before this discovery, the area was deemed to hold no prospecting potential. How did the Third Brigade break industry assertions and turn the impossible into possible? Recently, geological team members shared their story with China Science Daily.
Finding significant mines requires a bit of an adventurous spirit
About 500 kilometers west of Pidu, through the overlapping high mountains and deep gorges, you will find Yajiang. This region, located in the chilly highland territories of Western Sichuan with an average altitude of over 3,300 meters, has a complex geological structure. It wasn't until the end of 2019 that the area's township roads become Sichuan Province's last accessible routes. In the past five years, headed by the Director of the Science and Innovation Center of the Third Brigade, Yue Dabin, a team of 9 members has been shuttling back and forth between the two locales over winding mountain paths. "Now is the time of the year when our team is the most complete. Usually, it's hard to find anyone around," said a staff member from the Third Brigade. "Geological team members are like birds, flying off to various locations to search for ores as soon as spring arrives, only returning to their nest when winter freezes over." Although the mining area had been designated for exploration rights as early as 2002, it was long believed to have "no prospecting prospects." Corporations were not keen to invest excessively, leading to a three-time change of hands of the mining rights. In 2018, the Third Brigade took over the exploration work in the area. Established by merging the original Geological Teams 108 and 402 of the Sichuan Provincial Geological and Mineral Resources Bureau, both teams with rich experience in prospecting since the 1960s. If counting the lithium resources previously identified, the Third Brigade's findings in Western Sichuan amount to over 2 million tons, with a significant portion located in the "lithium gem" of the Western Sichuan Plateau — the Ganzi Jiajika area. The newly discovered Yajiang lithium deposit is only 14 kilometers away from Jiajika. Why was it initially viewed unfavorably? "Nearby, there were no major granite exposures, and granites can provide material sources for lithium deposits," Yue Dabin told China Science Daily. "Though there was hope in finding ore, finding a significant deposit requires a bit of an adventurous spirit." With few surface granite outcrops, what could be the situation in the deeper parts? Pursuing this lead, in November that year, Yue Dabin and his team members ventured into the mountains. Through thorough exploration, they delineated a red columnar stone belt in the mining area. This mark is unique to lithium spodumene mines, which Yue Dabin likens to the “scent” escaping from the ore bodies. With this clue, the team found the ore-bearing host within the red columnar stone belt. With the scent and host identified, could the ore body itself be far behind? To find the answer, team members traversed through dense forests daily, searching for subtle hints and eventually discovered a one-meter-thick pegmatite mineralized fine vein. Seizing upon this slender piece of information, similar to a hair, they analyzed the ore's "texture" and surmised the possibility of a deep-seated hidden ore body. Probing deeper for ores has always been a global challenge. The lush vegetation and complex geological structure in the Yajiang mining area made deep exploration even more arduous. Based on preliminary research, the team members directly drilled over 300 meters deep to verify the continuity of the deep-seated ore body. "Finding ore signifies tremendous potential; failing to find ore means there's no need to continue wasting time," Yue Dabin stated. Half a month later, when the drilling reached a depth of over 300 meters, workers claimed to have seen the 'white rocks' they were searching for. The "first drilling" adventure brought exhilarating news: Continuous drilling in three holes produced more than 1,000 meters of cores, with grade of lithium oxide in the "white rocks" reaching 1.62%. Yue Dabin boldly speculated a possible lithium vein extending seven to eight hundred meters from south to north between these three holes. Based on this first-hand information, they began to unveil the deep-seated resources.Amid the hardships, 40,000 meters of drilling core over 4 years
In Yue Dabin's office, shelves are laden with greyish-white rock cores each about 10 centimeters in diameter, a portion of the "spoils of war" won by him and his team over the past five years. From 2018 to the end of 2022, Yue Dabin led team members in drilling 93 holes in the Yajiang area, obtaining a total of 42,247 meters of drilling core. Numerous unforgettable memories lie behind these figures. The project sits in a high-altitude, deeply cut area with lush vegetation and steep terrain. The mining zone is flanked by high mountains with nearly a 50-degree slope, making mountain climbing a "compulsory course" for every team member. With 2 to 5 drilling rigs operating daily in the area and up to 10 rigs at peak times, each rig could produce six to seven 3-meter-long cores per day. To guide drilling, lower holes, and record cores, team members traverse elevations ranging from 500 to 1,000 meters daily, equivalent to climbing half Mount Tai. When work gets busy, lunch is taken on the mountain with dry food and tap water. The most challenging part was in 2019. To determine the direction of the deep-seated ore body, three consecutive drills were conducted, each nearly 1,000 meters deep, but the rigs did not proceed as planned, resulting in the loss of millions in engineering costs. "If it deviates, resource assessment certainly won't comply with standards," explained Liao Xingjian, the technical person in charge of Yajiang lithium mine exploration. Eventually, the problem was resolved after repeated trial and error using a practical technical approach. The coldest was the winter of 2021. Typically, team members would "leave the nest" in April and "return" before the freeze in December. That year, to meet the deadline, they continued to work until January of the following year. It was the coldest season on the Western Sichuan Plateau, with temperatures dropping to over ten degrees below zero, but they still persisted with four to five hours of work each day. Yet amid hardships, there was joy. "For safety, we raised several dogs at the work site, and Yue would buy them sausages and other food. During that period, everyone often worked until midnight or later, and when hungry, they would take the dogs' sausages, roast them on the stove, and eat them." Li Long, a 'post-90s' team member, fondly recalls those times of collective "dog food chewing." To meet the enterprise's prompt submission of reserve reports and achieve green exploration and safe development, team members have consistently overcome difficulties and faithfully carried out their duties over the years. Long-term field work causes Liao Xingjian to suffer from arthritis every winter, with agonizing pain in his knees as if ants were gnawing from the inside, but he spends 11 months in the mining area. Not afraid to take on the burden in the team, Wang Zhangxiang, a resource exploration veteran, shoulders the responsibility of hydrogeology, engineering geology, and environmental geology in the mining area. For monitoring the water velocity of the Daqing River at night, he is often on the move at one or two o'clock in the morning. After his marriage, Li Long stayed at the mine, even during his father's cancer emergency, he remained at his post. Thanks to this perseverance, as the drilling depth increased, the team members experienced new surprises every day, and their confidence grew steadily. In December 2019, the Yajiang lithium deposit was estimated to have reached a large-scale level of 100,000 tons; by August 2021, it increased to 600,000 tons, reaching a giant-scale; and by July 2022, it reached nearly a million tons, with an average grade of lithium oxide of 1.62%. In just five years, the Third Brigade made a groundbreaking discovery of lithium ore in the Jiajika area of the Western Sichuan Plateau, refuting industry claims and uncovering China's and even Asia's largest and richest pegmatite lithium deposit. In the process, they also established an efficient, deep exploration technology "combination punch" by precisely locating deep hidden ore bodies through geological, geophysical, geochemical, and remote sensing multi-element information. This set a new record for the deepest drilled lithium exploration hole in Sichuan Province and even in China—1302.5 meters, providing a new model for future deep lithium ore detection.Young geological workers should dare to "go down" to the grassroots level
In January this year, an expert group led by Tang Juxing, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, highly appraised the Yajiang giant lithium exploration project, considering it a landmark achievement since China's implementation of the new round of prospecting breakthrough strategic action. It has solved key technology issues in finding hidden giant pegmatite lithium deposits in the high-altitude deeply cut areas and established a model for finding hidden giant pegmatite lithium deposits. The prospecting technology achieved an international advanced level. Commenting on the expert group's appraisal, Liao Xingjian candidly remarked, "No matter where I go, I feel the light within." The mining area is in a land with poor soil and sparse population. The local farmers mainly rely on growing highland barley and potatoes as well as harvesting matsutake mushrooms for their income, which is very limited. Wu Ding, the Party Secretary and Director of the Sichuan Geological and Mineral Exploration and Development Bureau, told China Science Daily that the discovery of high-grade, giant lithium deposits in the Yajiang area will not only help boost confidence in implementing a new round of prospecting breakthrough actions and building a national-level lithium resource base in Sichuan Province but also promote the economic and social development of the region. Xiao Hua, captain of the Third Brigade, and Liu Quan, deputy captain, shared with China Science Daily reporters that grassroots geological exploration needs not only experienced and highly capable team members but also young talents with extensive knowledge. Currently, grassroots geological teams still face challenges in attracting outstanding graduate students and young leading talents from universities. In interviews, several respondents believed that to promote a new round of prospecting breakthroughs, young geological workers should dare to "go down" to the grassroots level and enable geology teams to play a "main force" role in prospecting and exploration.
